Pros

Cons

Usual Mini-ITX board price premium.

Some gamers might want more onboard LEDs.

Building a PC inside a roomy ATX case is so much easier than going small—by which we mean, going Mini-ITX. It's clear why so many gamers are tempted, though: A gaming PC in a Mini-ITX case is easy to carry to a friend's house, or simply tuck into a space-constrained gaming nook. But you have to be extra-careful when shopping for a motherboard for wee PCs like these, as Mini-ITX boards tend to be known as much for what they're not as for what they are. Fear not, though, if you're looking at the Asus ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming. This $189.99 Mini-ITX board lets you pack a truly compact PC case with the most power possible these days, including one of Intel's fierce eighth-generation Core "Coffee Lake" processors, and multiple M.2 SSDs. As the foundation for a dynamo of a gaming or productivity PC, it's a winner of a board.

Going Mini-ITX? Be Smart About Parts

As with luggage, dropping to a smaller size means you'll need to pack light. Mini-ITX motherboards are typically 6.7-inch squares, offering significantly less space for components than a 9.6x12-inch ATX form factor. Even MicroATX boards are generally larger, with many measuring 9.6x9.6 inches. (See our primer on motherboard lingo, Buying a Motherboard: 20 Terms You Need to Know.) And whereas a MicroATX motherboard will have room for two or three expansion slots, the Mini-ITX ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming, like most of its kind, sports a single PCI Express x16 slot. So you'll have to make that one slot count.

You can put a Mini-ITX board like this one into a standard MicroATX or ATX case, provided that its motherboard tray has the appropriate standoff holes for Mini-ITX. (Most will.) If you do that, you can count on using a standard-size power supply. But if you go with a space-saving Mini-ITX case, it's possible you'll need to invest in a specialized power supply designed for compact cases. (Usually, where required, these are known as "SFX form factor" power supplies, and they cost a premium at any given wattage.) You should also pay close attention to size requirements for cooling gear and other components. Your Mini-ITX board can levy hidden costs that are not immediately apparent, depending on the case you install it in.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X

Intel Core i7-8700K

Indeed, smaller components don't always translate to lower prices, and that applies to the board itself, too. For the ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming, you may spend more than on a full-size ATX motherboard bearing the same Intel Z370 chipset and lots more slots and ports. Some fully kitted-out ATX boards based on the Z370 chipset will cost more than $200, but at this writing, basic Z370 ATX boards started at $99, with lots of equivalent-featured Z370 boards from Asrock, Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI clocking in at $140 to $150.

An Eye on the Board

The Asus ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming doesn't have much in the way of lighting (on its top side, that is) but it sports three large brushed-aluminum heatsinks that will make for plenty of eye candy in a Mini-ITX PC case that has a side window.

The LGA 1151 CPU socket resides near the center of the ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming, surrounded on three sides by the heatsinks. Two memory slots border the CPU socket on the right, creating just enough space for a heatsink fan or a water block. Unfortunately, the design also cuts off most routes that liquid-cooling tubes might take to avoid going straight over the memory modules. That's no problem if your cooling gear can snake over the DIMMs comfortably. It won't be an issue for most builders, but it makes for a reminder that building a PC in a standard ATX case is typically easier.

The dual-channel memory slots support up to 32GB of DDR4 memory and support XMP profiles for easy, optimal configuration of memory speeds. The DIMM slots have thumb locks on just the top ends, which makes sense on a space-challenged Mini-ITX board like this one. (You have to work your fingers in to lock or unlock only one side in a tight space.)

Asus wrapped its lone PCI Express x16 slot in steel to make it extra-sturdy. That's a good plan, given the weight of today's gaming-friendly video cards and the likelihood that a Mini-ITX PC might be subject to jolts, lugged to LAN parties and other gaming events.

Although it's hard to picture a motherboard named the "ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming" being used for anything other than its titular purpose, it's worth noting that the compatible Intel CPUs all have onboard graphics. That means you could rely on Intel UHD Graphics and put the PCI Express slot to other uses. The Asus Hyper M.2 x16 card, for one thing, can give DIY builders extra M.2 slots.

That said, M.2 compatibility is not an area that should disappoint on this board for most builders. Gamers can rely on the board's two M.2 slots, which support M.2 sticks up to size Type-2280. (That's 80mm long.) Asus put a large aluminum heatsink over the top M.2 slot, which is a nice touch. Interestingly, the heatsink extends to (some of the) underside of your storage device, too.

The other M.2 slot resides on the back of the motherboard, so let's take a quick look...

That M.2 slot sits just below its sibling on the other side of the board. Note that the M.2 slot on the board front supports both SATA and PCI Express M.2 SSDs, while the one on the back is PCI Express only. (See our guide to the best M.2 solid state drives we've tested.)

It's also worth taking a look at the row of RGB LEDs that line the edge of the motherboard closest to the memory slots. The lights shine onto the motherboard tray, creating a noticeable underglow effect. It's not exactly RGB fireworks, but Mini-ITX just doesn't provide many opportunities for onboard bling. So this will have to do, and it exceeds expectations.

Ports and Headers: Plenty for the Size

As is typical for Mini-ITX boards, the I/O panel runs nearly the entire width of the Asus ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming. The panel sports the typical array of audio ports, backed by the SupremeFX audio codec. The motherboard's Wi-Fi card sits nearby, with connectors for two antennas visible. The board features 802.11ac Wi-Fi (with MU-MIMO support, a nice touch), as well as Bluetooth 4.2 for your gadgets.

Asus stacked a USB 3.0 Type-A port on a USB 3.0 Type-C port near the left side of the I/O panel. A stack of four USB 2.0 ports comes next, followed by DisplayPort and HDMI outputs for the Intel IGP, along with two more USB 3.0 Type-A ports.

That's a solid number of USB ports for this little board as it is, and Asus put the USB cherry on top by adding a USB 3.1 Gen 2 connector. It's just an internal header (that is, it's not on the I/O panel), but it's worth mentioning. Some, but not all, very new PC cases will have a cable for this header that will let you connect it to a Gen 2 port on the front panel.

Mini-ITX motherboards have severely limited space for internal ports and headers, especially along their edges. The lower edge of the ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming is dedicated almost entirely to the PCI Express x16 slot. Asus managed to squeeze just a few headers into the small open spaces near the heat spreader for M.2 devices. Front-panel audio connectors and USB 2.0 headers are tucked in with two of the board's fan and pump connectors.

The right side of the board has a little more room and sports four SATA connectors, two of which stand closer to the middle of the board, on the far side of the memory slots. The front-panel switch/LED header cluster stands near the middle of the board's right edge, just below an RGB header for your light strip, should you choose to augment the board's bling with your own. This edge also features a USB 3.0 header and the standard 24-pin power connector. An eight-pin CPU power connector stands at the top of the board, near the CPU fan header. It's an adequate mix for what might be possible, in terms of connectors and cooling, in a Mini-ITX chassis.

The BIOS: A Brief Look

The ROG Strix Z370-I has a robust BIOS bristling with overclocking and system-monitoring features. Enter the BIOS, and you're greeted by the EZ Mode screen, which brings together some basic but worthwhile information about your PC's status.

EZ Mode lists the motherboard model and the BIOS version, which is a nice touch. (Digging around the deep recesses of a typical BIOS to find out what version you're running is a pain.) More important, though, EZ Mode displays a running graph of your CPU temperature, so you can see whether the current temp is stable, or part of an upward (or a downward) trend.

From here, you can open the EZ Tuning Wizard, which is a handy system tweaking feature for beginner PC builders. Select a few options (based on your installed hardware, and what tasks you plan to use the PC for), and the wizard takes care of overclocking and fan control to get you an auto-boost. The last step of the wizard estimates the difference this boost can make to your PC.

Jump into Advanced mode, and the wizards depart: You enter a manual-overclocker's playroom. Asus keeps your PC's vitals on hand with a Hardware Monitor sidebar that sits on the right side of the screen, and the BIOS fills the rest of the screen with easy-to-navigate drill-down menus.

The Ai Tweaker menu gives overclockers an array of timing and voltage controls, while the Q-Fan Control page keeps a running tab of the PC's fan performance. You can adjust fan settings by moving a slider. Q-Fan control can give you control over individual fans or optimize all of them at once.

Tackling a Test Build

The Asus ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming ships with several accessories worth mentioning, including a Wi-Fi antenna that stands separately from your PC, thanks to a 2.75-foot cord. This gives you a little more flexibility than you would get from a typical I/O-panel-fixed antenna when it comes to finding a strong signal.

The accessories kit also features some zip ties, four SATA cables (two of which have angled L-connectors for better cable management), and an LED extension cable that lets you start your LED strip farther away from the motherboard. A sticker sheet gives you several ROG-themed case decorations, as well as 10 cable labels, which is a nice touch.

I have long been a fan of devices that make the task of plugging the front-panel connectors into the motherboard an easier one. Pinching the individual connectors and trying to squeeze them past nearby components is one of the least fun parts of building a PC, so I'm glad to see that Asus tossed a short panel cable into the box. Thanks to this, you can attach your PC case's front-panel connectors to the adapter and then plug a single block onto the board's headers.

As mentioned earlier, being a Mini-ITX motherboard, the Asus ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming can make a home in anything from a compact Mini-ITX case up to a full-size ATX-style case, so long as its motherboard tray supports Mini-ITX boards. I opted for the RioToro CR480( at Amazon) , a slender chassis that supports ATX, MicroATX, and Mini-ITX motherboards.

Moving the motherboard tray's standoffs into the Mini-ITX configuration took just a few minutes. Aside from those on the I/O panel, none of the ports faces horizontally from the side of the ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming, making a close-quarters installation that much easier.

I dropped an eighth-generation Intel Core i5-8400($179.99 at Amazon) CPU into the CPU socket and cooled it with a Corsair Hydro H60 liquid cooler. The motherboard tray's cutout didn't quite give me room to install the cooler backplate from the right side of the case, so I removed the motherboard, attached it, and put the board back in the system. I opted for G.Skill TridentZ PC-3200 DDR4 memory and wrapped the system up with an ADATA SSD and an MSI GeForce GTX 1060 Gaming X 6G video card.

I tried mounting the Hydro H60's 120mm radiator at the top of the RioToro CR480, but I found that the radiator pushed against the 24-pin power supply cable, which in turn pushed one of the memory DIMMs just a smidge to the left. That caused boot-up problems, so I moved the radiator to the back of the PC case, in the exhaust-fan position.

Radiator- and backplate-shuffling aside, the test build was a smooth, speedy endeavor. I could see the board's lighting easily through the case window, but I think most DIY builders will want to invest in an RGB strip to boost the illumination factor. I can see how builders who like bling might be left wanting more.

A Real Mini-ITX Dynamo

Mini-ITX motherboards simply don't have the PCB room to support excess features that might dazzle would-be buyers. The ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming lacks a debug LED, for example, which could make troubleshooting harder for new DIY builders (and experienced ones, too, for that matter). Even so, Asus created an impressive board in the ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming. With dual front-and-back M.2 slots, advanced Wi-Fi, and USB 3.1 Gen 2 header support, the Strix Z370-I Gaming will remain relevant for a good long time.

When it comes to aesthetics, the ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming is a winner. Asus didn't put LEDs on every inch of heatsink surface, but it hit a home run with the strip of LEDs along the right side of the board. Some motherboard trays with large cutouts (like mine, for example) might throw off or break up the lighting a bit, but even then, it still looks good. And, at least in my chassis, the glow was easily visible from the side-panel window.

The ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming is a solid gaming board for a cutting-edge, compact gaming PC. It's not cheap, but if you have room in your build budget, you'd do well to give this board a look—and a place in your case.

About Josh Gulick

After being assigned to the computer-science wing of his college dormitory, Josh quickly became one of the most tech-savvy English majors around. Upon graduating, he began reviewing computers for the magazines Smart Computing and Computer Power User. After years of covering computer hardware and the PC-modding scene, Josh became Smart Computing’s publication editor. These days, Josh is back at his favorite job: testing new hardware. In his downtime, Josh can be found playing RTS games (poorly) or prepping for his next half-marathon (by obsessing about running shoes).

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